The route for Benarty is, according to the reports I have read, in part through the woods, so I would assume some level of protection there and the AZ extends quite a way south from the highest point, so you’d probably have some protection from the wind at that position. It all depends on what clothing and footwear you have with you and above all, whether you actually feel like doing it. You’d probably be okay making contacts quite quickly on 2m FM from there, but that’s another factor to consider.
Paul and I are looking to do this one on our next outing. At the moment we have it planned after East Lomond followed by West Lomond, so our approach would be from the north. It looks as though going back to the car, moving to the car park to the east and starting from there could be a better option.
From meeting today and looking at details of job tomorrow, looks like I’ll be back for several days later in the year. One tonorrow is to the west of Benarty and I spotted the white ball thing on top of Bishop Hill as I sat waiting for roadworks just down from the Loch carpark so that put the hills in a bit more of a context.
May look for hotel with wifi my works PC likes that’s a bit closer as well.
Three photographs from the Bishops Hill attempt. The car park at the church in Scotlandwell, the 1st gate on the path and a picture of the final section that I did not achieve with the round thing on the top of the hill visible.
That’s not the church car park. It’s about another 300m further down the road and nearer the start of the path
The last picture shows the path through the lumpy bits. The bloke in the orange top has just reached a bend, 100m on you swing left, through the lumps, then right and the path climbs up and then it’s fairly flat.
You can see the rain radar… when this appeared the locals were not amused. It was obviously a blight on the landscape and possibly a health hazard. Then when they found out having a rain radar meant no windfarms in the area they were delighted and requested many more radars be built!
Sorry to hear you had such a difficult time with your recent expeditions. You’ve discovered the hard way that even the “easy” GM hills are often far from trivial… adding the time constraints of after-work activations make for a very challenging combination! Please don’t get discouraged.
Key to success lies in thorough preparation of every aspect, although it’s only a “quick nip up a hill” a small unforeseen issue can upset things entirely so parking, route and timings are all potentially critical. There are many sources for the first two and for timings I can recommend developing an itinerary system that accounts for all the elements that make up the expedition including “Faff” time - travel, parking, kitting up, ascent, setting up, operating, dismantling, descending - to be sure that what you’re attempting is possible within the available timeslot.
Regarding ascent times, look carefully at the route you intend to follow, work out the distance and total vertical ascent and apply your own version of Naismith’s rule - you can make assumptions at first and as you gain experience you can modify it to generate an algorithm that suits your own ability. And with a bit of luck as you do more and more hills tweak it to allow for your increasing level of fitness
HTH and isn’t just a lesson in egg-sucking… good luck with your activating and look forward to hearing of your further exploits!
One of the problems I had was trying to get the works PC to connect to various WiFi networks. At the hotel That I was at on Wednesday and Thursday night the PC just would not connect to the internet. However, my own smartphone would.
I had jotted down various details from the Summits database but some of the information either didn’t penetrate my consciousness, or else was a bit vague. Hence my getting the wrong car park at Scotlandwell as the description seemed to fit what I found as I drove in.
I also managed to go to the wrong side of Benarty for similar reasons that the description seemed to fit and I forgot to check for North and South facing approaches. By that time I had all but decided not to climb anyway.
I am not due to be back in Scotland for several weeks now, so what with the clocks going forward and the increasing daylight hours as summer approaches I may have another go later in the year.
If you are just getting your fitness back after a break you could always try some chasing from non SOTA summits on smaller hills to check the equipment works or even a couple of miles walking just carrying your rucksack with your gear to get the body used to it again.
I normally find it hard getting the time for regular SOTA adventures due to work and family, but I try to get to Hamsterley forest twice a month for a walk with my gear to keep my fittness levels up.
Hope your plans for your next trip go well, and hope to hear you soon from a summit.
For continuity easier to split off posts about mapping from this thread - should be quite straight forward.
Jim
Edit: Done. Are there any posts I missed or is the new topic OK?